Blueberry Hand Pies

A make a strawberry galette a few weeks ago and had some leftover crust, so I made a few mini blueberry tarts to enjoy. I loved them so much I made them again for company tonight. I started with the crust recipe I like so much with a few minor changes. 

So I add a little more sugar than it calls for and in place of the shortening I grate in a stick of frozen butter (half a cups of butter) and the rest of the fat I pour in some coconut oil.

For me this made 13 hand pies that were perfect for 1 person.

For the filling I used almost 3 packages of blueberries, I used three and had some filling left over. I think it was about 6 cups total. I mixed it with 3/4 a cup of sugar, but that also depends on your berries. Then add 1/4 cup tapioca flour and about 2 - 3 tablespoons of lemon juice. Mash about 1.2 of a cup of them lightly just to create a little liquid. Stir it all together and let it sit while you mix up the crust. 

It was really easy to assemble from there. I hate rolling and cutting stuff out and dealing with leftover scraps. So I spit the dough into pieces and rolled them individually. They should be about 5 inches across when it's all flat. I started to make ten pies but they were rolling a little too big so I pinched some of the dough off of them and it made enough for three more. Put the rolled out dough on the tray you will be baking them on. I recommend a no stick mat as well, tin foil works too. I have done both. Top with just under a half a cup of filling. I like to stir the filling before scooping each time since the liquid tends to settle. Top with the filling and fold the sides in around the berries. Brush the crust with cream and sprinkle with a coarse sugar. 

Bake at 425 until they are golden brown. I think it took about 25 minutes. You don't want the liquid that seeps out to burn on the pan or it will lend a charred taste to the pastries. Cool on the pan no more than5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. I'm not sure how long these stay good before they get soggy, I suspect they would get soggy if made the day before but I'm not sure since we haven't ever had them last that long.

Fresh Blueberry Sauce

5 c. fresh blueberries

3 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp. lemon juice

3 Tbsp water

1 1/2 tsp instant clear gel

Place half the blueberries in a large bowl and mash lightly. I started to use a potato mashed but it mushed the blueberries too much, I like them to only be broken up a bit but not a paste. Add the sugar and remaining blueberries and continue mashing until most of the blueberries are at least somewhat squished. Add the water and lemon juice, stir for a minute and let stand for 10 minutes. Sprinkle the clear gel over the top and stir again for another minute. Let stand for ten minutes and serve.

I love the use of the clear gel because it thickens the sauce around the berries without having to cook them at all leaving it so they are still fresh. This can be made with fresh strawberries as well. Slice the strawberries instead of mashing them and skip the water. Let the sliced berries sit with the sugar for about 20 minutes and then add the clear gel until thickened.

This is great over ice cream, in crepes, or just in a bowl with whipped cream.

Lemon Berry Pie

This is a combination of three separate pies all brought together in one pie crust. The base is the lemon sour cream pie from the other day, with key lime added and then topped with a fresh strawberry pie. Feel free to make this with all lemon or with equal parts lemon and lime for a more distinct key lime pie flavor. Blue berries are also good in place of the strawberries for a lemon blueberry pie. Just switch the gelatin to blackberry or lemon flavored. If you go the lime route add an extra tablespoon or two of sugar, I like it on the tart side but the rest of my family agreed they would have appreciated it slightly sweeter.

1 pie crust

Lemon layer:

1 c. sour cream

1/2 c. sugar

2 eggs

1/2 c. lemon juice (minus 1 Tbsp)

1 Tbsp key lime juice (Or orange juice concentrate)

1/4 tsp Penzys lemon peel (or zest from 1/2 lemon)

Strawberry Layer:

1/2 c. sugar 

1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch

1/2 c. water

1/2 packet Strawberry gelatin powder

1/2 tsp lemon juice

1 lb. fresh strawberries, sliced

Bake the crust for 20 minutes. Whisk together all of the ingredients for the lemon layer. Once the crust has baked for 20 minutes pour the lemon and sour cream mixture into the crust and bake an additional 20 minutes until the lemon looks mostly set but not totally solid. 

Chill for 2 hours

In a small saucepan whisk together the sugar and cornstarch. Stir in the water. Cook until thick. Remove from heat and stir in the gelatin powder and the lemon juice. Let cool slightly and toss with strawberries. Gently spoon over chilled lemon layer. Chill another hour or until ready to serve.

Fluffy Blueberry Oat Pancakes

3 3/4 c. milk

5 1/4 c. flour

1 c. sugar

1/3 c. baking powder

1 Tbsp. baking soda

2 tsp. salt

5 eggs

2/3 c. oil

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

2/3 c. lemon juice

1 1/2 c. quick cooking oats

1 (48 oz) bag blueberries, thawed

In a large bowl whisk together the milk, eggs, and oil. Set aside

In a separate bowl mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Combine the two bowls and add the remaining ingredients. The lemon juice will make it foam a bit, thats supposed to happen, that reaction makes them light and fluffy. 

Cook in a no stick pan over medium on both sides until golden. 

I made mine kinds small and I got 6 dozen out of this recipe.

To freeze them lay them flat in a single layer on a cookie sheet and freeze until solid. When they are frozen solid put them in a freezer safe bag.  I like to re-heat mine in the toaster, otherwise they are kinda soggy.

Fresh Blueberry Peach Pie

This is another recipe from my mom.
She used to make it in the summer when the peaches where ripe.

One time I didn't have the lemon jello on hand
(this is also good for people who avoid pre-processed stuff)
just make a lemon curd and toss the fruit with that.

Pie Filling

1 c. sugar

3 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 c. water

¼ c. lemon flavored gelatin powder

4 c. sliced peaches, peeled

¾ c. blueberries

Pastry Shell

Sweetened Whipped Cream

Combine sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan. Stir in the water. Bring to a boil over medium heat; stirring constantly, until the sauce is thick and translucent. Remove from heat, and add gelatin, stirring until gelatin dissolves. Cool.

Combine peaches and blueberries in a large bowl. Add gelatin mixture; toss gently.

Spoon into prepared pastry shell.

Cover and chill 1 hour or until set. Serve with sweetened whipped cream.

Pastry Shell

1 ¼ c. all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp. sugar

½ tsp. Salt

½ c. slivered almonds, coarsely chopped

1/3 c. vegetable oil

3 to 4 Tbsp. Water

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened. Press into a 9-inch pie plate.

Bake at 375° for 20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Fun activity with kids, involves food.

This is really fun to do with kids. I make and fill the tarts and let the kids arrange the fruit on the top. They always have tons of fun "helping" mom.



24 pre-baked mini tart shells
1 recipe White chocolate silk (make the entire batch white chocolate)
Assorted fruit

When the tart shells are cooled, fill with white chocolate silk. You can either just spoon in, or to make them a little fancier, pipe in with a large star tip. Top with fresh cut up fruit and enjoy.

I used sliced strawberries, kiwi, mandarin oranges, and blueberries. Other great fruits to include would be sliced peaches and raspberries.

For added flavor you can toss fruit with a little lemon curd or glaze before topping, just make sure and shake off the excess so it isn't dripping.

This is my tart

Rosie's Tart

Miriams Tart

The girls friend Phil's tart

Lily doesn't get a picture since she decided not to decorate her tart and instead ate it straight away. Then started in on the bowls of fruit.